Pasta Nights & Pantry Staples: Easy Summer Italian

Summer pasta dinners in our house tend to fall into two categories: the long-simmered, lazy-Sunday sauces, and the quick, get-something-good-on-the-table-now jobs. In the recent heat however, we’re leaning into the latter. These are pantry-friendly recipes that make the most of what’s already in the cupboard, with a few fresh in season ingredients to give them that sun-drenched Italian feel even if your Negroni is sipped in West Clare.

Brown Butter Confit Tomato Pasta

First up is Brown Butter Confit Tomato Pasta – this one is deceptively simple but made at its very best when we get a flood of beautiful Irish summer tomatoes. Start by browning butter until it smells nutty and aromatic, then add garlic, thyme and a load of cherry tomatoes or whatever beauties you can get your hands on. Let them slowly collapse and sweeten into the butter for a silky, jammy sauce that clings beautifully to fresh fettuccine. Pecorino goes in at the end for salty sharpness and a handful of basil keeps things fresh. One of my summer favourites on repeat.

Get the recipe HERE

Speedy Green Pasta

Everyone should have a go to 15-minute pasta recipe. Speedy Green Pasta is the one I pull out particularly at this time of year when the produce needs little extra added. Garlic and chilli warm gently in good olive oil before adding a  small summer courgette to the pan.  You’re cooking it just enough to soften slightly while the pasta finishes boiling. Toss everything together with lemon juice, pecorino, toasted pine nuts and lots of basil. Simple, fresh, fast and something that’s worth stepping into the kitchen for.

Get the recipe HERE

Orecchiette with Kale and Spicy Pangrattato

Inspired by our recent trip to Puglia where the pasta grannies make little ear shaped pasta right on the streets of Bari, this Orecchiette with Kale and Spicy Pangrattato is a great way with this humble pasta shape. It’s the crunchy, garlicky breadcrumbs that make this special– a brilliant way to use up old bread and add texture to the dish borrowing from the cucina povera (the traditional Italian frugal cooking techniques). The kale wilts down into the anchovy and garlic base (please, please don’t omit the anchovies- they are essential here), and a splash of pasta water brings everything together into a silky sauce that clings to the orecchiette’s little ear shapes. It’s humble, comforting, and endlessly adaptable.

Get the recipe HERE

These are the kind of recipes I lean on when I want real food, fast, particularly in the summer months. Keep your best extra virgin olive oil on hand nearby and you’re halfway there.

Photography Credit: Donal Skehan

Food Styling Credit: Charlotte O’Connell

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